What Is Social Work?
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CHAPTER OUTLINE Social Welfare 4 Psychology and Social Work 13 Social Work 5 Counseling and Social Work 14 CORE COMPETENCY: Professional Identity 5 Social Work in the World Today 14 A Current Definition 7 CORE COMPETENCY: Human Rights & Justice 14 Distinguishing Characteristics of Social Work 8 Summary 15 CORE COMPETENCY: Ethical Practice 8 Practice Test 17 Social Work Careers 11 MySocialWorkLab 17 Sociology and Social Work 12 Core Competency Video / Recognizing Personal Values Psychiatry and Social Work 12 Core Competencies in this Chapter (Check marks indicate which competencies are covered in depth) ✓ Professional ✓ Ethical ✓ Critical ✓ Diversity in ✓ Human Rights Identity Practice Thinking Practice & Justice ✓ ✓ Research-Based ✓ Human ✓ Policy ✓ Practice Engage, Assess, Practice Behavior Practice Contexts Intervene, Evaluate M01_FARL1972_12_SE_C01.qxd 4/28/11 7:39 PM Page 2 2 Chapter 1 At 3:00 A.M., an ambulance pulled up to the medical center emergency room. Attendants rushed to get a 17-year-old Hispanic teenager into the hospital and onto life support systems. The teenager had desperately, but resolutely, driven his car into a solid brick wall. The social worker on duty during those early hours was called to be there when the boy’s parents arrived. The look of desperation on their faces told the whole story. This couple had come to the United States from Mexico some three years ago, bringing their boy and his three younger sisters with them. The lan- guage, the school system, and the entire community had created subtle barri- ers for this family.The father and mother both obtained low-paying jobs and tried to begin a new life. The 17-year-old tried to fit in. His grades weren’t bad, but he just didn’t have friends. He couldn’t get a sense of who he was. His dad saved some very hard-earned dollars to buy the young man a car. Perhaps the car would help his son find a place. It was that same car that now was a twisted wreck. The boy died that night.The social worker tried to comfort the parents. Over and over again the social worker asked himself the questions,“Why couldn’t this tragedy have been prevented? What can I do now to help this family?” A second case glimpse illustrates community problems. Riots rocked Los Angeles after the acquittal, Wednesday, April 29, 1992, of four white police officers in the videotaped beating of a black motorist, Rodney King. In less than twenty-four hours, mobs attacked police headquarters, motorists were dragged from their cars and beaten, and hundreds of businesses and homes were looted or burned in South Central Los Angeles. A night of arson, loot- ing, and gunfire killed nine persons. By the following Tuesday, when life was “back to normal,” the rioting had resulted in fifty-five dead and 5,500 fires. More recently, Cincinnati has suffered from severe riots brought on by the shooting of a young black man by a white police officer. What might have been done to prevent such disasters? Can social work play a part in facing and helping solve community problems? *** We live in a challenging, fascinating world. We have learned how to travel to the moon and sent a millionaire son of a retired U.S. astronaut on a Russian rocket to live on the orbiting international space station, yet we often have dif- ficulty reaching someone in the same room. We live in a fast-moving, push- button space age, yet we find that people are still the center of the world and its values. Mars and the rings of Saturn are important, but humans are more important. As people live together, problems of relationship and interaction emerge. Personal problems, family problems, and community problems appear on the horizon of everyday living. Drug abuse, homelessness, crime, delin- quency, mental illness, suicide, school dropouts, AIDS, and numerous other social problems abound at every turn. Every day, new scientific and technological discoveries enlarge our knowledge and skills. We not only travel in space and have space stations but also have one or more cars in the garage for personal travel. We carry iPods, iPhones, video cell phones, laptop computers, and TV sets that bring instant news twenty-four hours a day, shrinking the world to a small com- munity. Fifteen-second ads channeled into our homes are common. Wonder drugs are being used by millions everywhere searching for peace of mind as well as for treatment. Genetically engineered foods are reaching dining M01_FARL1972_12_SE_C01.qxd 4/28/11 7:39 PM Page 3 What Is Social Work? 3 tables for distinctive eating. Digital cameras, VCRs, computer chips, Internet, DVDs, and computer banking are altering our recreational, educational, and business endeavors at every turn. Medical triumphs surprise the imagination with the use of lasers and miniature instruments under high magnification to restore eyesight, the use of artificial arms that give amputees lifelike dexterity, and the creation of test- tube babies. On the negative side, all kinds of difficult situations exist. Terrorism is rampant; the Iraq War has cost much in human lives and money; no place on the globe is any longer free from attack. Single mothers are raising children in many women-dominated homes with no fathers around. Use of drugs is on the increase around the world, bringing bizarre, uncertain behavior into the lives of people, their families, and their communities. “Computer criminals” are on the scene. Movies, TV, radio, and current literature are continuing to increase in negativism and violence. The average child views TV about four hours a day. By the age of sixteen, he or she has watched more than 200,000 acts of vio- lence—50,000 of which are murders. In this high-tech uncertain world, personal, family, and community problems exist as never before. Emotional difficulties are rife. Teenage and senior citizen suicides are on the increase. There seems to be an overall ebb in meaningful human relationships—people enjoying people and helping each other. When serious difficulties in human relationships arise, the question immediately becomes, “Can we get help?” The answer is usually, “Yes.” In this high-tech uncer- Many professions, one of which is social work, are ready and eager to help. tain world, personal, What is social work? What is social welfare? What part do they play in this family, and community satellite age? problems exist as never Social work and social welfare are based on three premises: (1) that the before. Emotional person is important; (2) that he or she has personal, family, and community problems resulting from interaction with others; and (3) that something can be difficulties are rife. done to alleviate these problems and enrich the individual’s life. An introduc- tory glimpse of two particular cases illustrates all three premises. A second case further illustrates these three premises. oe had been in a state hospital for nineteen years, in him, warm, friendly, and accepting. He responded J confined to one of the back wards. Hospital person- steadily to her interest and efforts. Within six months nel were unsuccessful in getting him involved in any he was discharged from the hospital; and with the type of interaction with staff or fellow patients. follow-up help of the local community mental health Then came a change. As a part of a new program, center, Joe was placed in an independent-living sit- a social worker was assigned to meet with Joe for uation where his quality of life improved dramatically thirty minutes daily with the goal of encouraging him over the next several years. to be more active in his own treatment. The worker When Joe was later asked by a close friend what explained to Joe that she was going to see him regu- had happened to make the difference in his life, he larly and that she was genuinely interested in him. For eagerly replied with much seriousness, “The worker the first two weeks, he uttered not a word. Then one was just like a magnet—drawing me out of my shell. day he surprised the worker by saying, “I like you.” I couldn’t resist her.” The worker continued to spend about thirty min- utes daily with Joe. She was sympathetic, interested M01_FARL1972_12_SE_C01.qxd 4/28/11 7:39 PM Page 4 4 Chapter 1 school of social work and a local businessman having a friendly visit to the replacement of broken- A formed a partnership to bring both volunteer and down furnaces and roofs. The funding for these repairs professional social services to a small inner-city neigh- came from the local businessman. Many of the services borhood that contained many senior citizens who were were provided by volunteers who lived in the neighbor- not being served adequately to meet their needs. hood whereas others were provided by volunteers Neighborhood residents were helped to form a “neigh- recruited from the larger community. The social work bor-to-neighbor” volunteer effort. The volunteers, students were also able to link senior citizens with pro- assisted by social work students, became the “eyes and fessional services already available. The quality of life ears” of the local community and began to address the and the independence of these senior citizens were needs of many of the seniors. The needs ranged from improved by this social work approach. SOCIAL WELFARE The terms social work and social welfare are often confused and sometimes used synonymously. Actually, social welfare has a broader meaning and encom- passes social work, public welfare, and other related programs and activities.